


One By One

by KaijinKyn



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Ambiguous Age, Canon Divergence, Drabble, Frisk is gonna have a bad time, In An Amusing Twist Chara Isn't The Murderer, Murder, Nonbinary Chara and Frisk, Other, frisk's a fuckin psychopath guys, future violence, its like if off met undertale
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-31
Updated: 2016-11-19
Packaged: 2018-08-28 07:12:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8436328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaijinKyn/pseuds/KaijinKyn
Summary: Frisk was the child every parent wished they had. They were kind, polite, held open doors, was an idol to every child in the town of Fivebott. But there was something off about the child. Sometimes their smile lasted too long, sometimes they were caught staring intently, as if looking into your soul.Frisk Daman wanted to free the monsters. No matter what it took.





	1. Once Upon A Time

Frisk does not think of themself as a cruel child.

Their life is good and free of struggle - their parents love them, they do well in school, they have many friends and many dreams.

Nothing is wrong.

Frisk likes to believe that they are a kind person.

Their methods may not be exactly be considered socially acceptable, but it was a necessary kindness - perhaps a bit on the harsh side. But they believed, deep down, that what they did was right.

Even if they were wrong.

* * *

 

“Hey, Frisk!” Frisk paused, turning their head slightly towards the voice that had called their name as they stopped attempting to make their school book fit in their bag. Really, it was so inconvenient how no matter what, the bags were just never big enough…

“Hi, Mary.” Frisk greeted amiably, giving the girl a gentle smile. Everyone knew who Frisk was, even if they’d never met the child - the one with the best manners, the one with all the friends and admirers they could ask for, the perfect child, the kindest spirit. The one who smiled at you no matter what, even under the face of threats and bullies. To some, they were known as somehow angelic - to others, extremely off putting. There was something about the child that just didn’t settle right with the occasional bystander.

“Want to come round mine for a sleepover tonight? Pretty much _everyone_ is coming.” Mary said, the slightest hint of a blush on her face. Frisk tilted their head, amused. She was cute and under a different circumstance they might have agreed, but…

“Sorry, Mary. I’m really busy tonight. I have somewhere I need to be.” Mary was obviously upset and Frisk went to rectify that. They didn’t want to make people sad, not at all. “I promise I’ll come to the next one. This is just very important to me.” Mary nodded, still looking downtrodden but otherwise okay.

“I understand! You must be busy, Frisk, all the teachers expect so much from you. I don’t know how you do it.” She gave Frisk an exasperatedly fond look, at which they simply smiled at.

“I’ve heard people call me ‘determined’ before. I think that’s pretty accurate.” They responded, turning back to their bag and firmly shoving their book inside with scary accuracy. “See? As long as I put my mind to it, I can do anything. Although, that was a fairly weak example.” Mary still seemed impressed, even so.

“Amazing! You’re so cool, Frisk.”

“I try.” Frisk smiled at Mary over their shoulder and she flushed, looking away in embarrassment.

“W-Well, I should go! See you on Monday, Frisk!” Frisk turned to watch her go before hefting their bag onto their shoulder and walking out of the door, giving the teacher a “goodbye” on the way out.

Finally, the weekend was here and they could get on with their plan. Ideally, they’d need more time but they’d do with what they had.

The mountain was a long way away, after all.

* * *

 

Frisk’s parents didn’t get home from work until late, but that was fine - they were responsible enough to be trusted alone without a sitter, which was useful. No siblings, either. Also good.

The hike up the mountain was easy enough. They were very physically active and extremely agile, but they were still just a child and children weren’t really made to scale steep cliff-faces. Still, they made it somehow - although halfway up a small, sharp stone had fallen from above and given them a stinging cut on their cheek, requiring Frisk to make an emergency stop and apply a bandage to the wound. Luckily they'd thought of emptying their school bag and filling it with essentials, but there was still room for other things should Frisk happen to find something underground - unlikely, but still possible.

The hole into the caverns was wide and looked extremely deep. Frisk wasn’t too sure how deep the hole was exactly, but it certainly looked like a dangerous fall. Just to be safe they kicked a rock down and listened but after hearing it bounce against the walls of the caverns a little bit the noise suddenly stopped, without sounding like it hit a bottom.

Interesting. Perhaps an effect of the barrier in place there?

Frisk walked a wide circle around the gaping hole, admiring the _wild_ look of it all. Truly, you’d expect beasts and the like to live beneath a place like this.

Admiring the hole wasn’t going to get them anywhere, though. It was time they investigated properly.

They probably could have planned their descent a little better however - after slowly climbing down the hole by using the trees roots as foot-and-hand-holds, they accidentally misplaced one of their feet and ended up slipping, falling down the hole with a sharp scream.

* * *

 

Everyone had heard the tales of the monsters beneath the mountain.

It was a story passed down through the ages, of a great war between magical humans and powerful monsters, the latter of which were banished to the underground caverns of Mount Ebott after losing to the humans.

Townsfolk gossiped about it, mothers told their children the (soft version of the) story to send them to sleep at night, there were extremist cults and anti-extremist cults, the occasional made up news-story about ‘monster sightings’. Generally, though, people agreed on one thing - it wasn’t real. The story was a story and nothing more. After all, the tale was a little far-fetched. Magic and monsters were fairytales and nothing more.

Frisk, however, disagreed. They believed that somewhere deep underground the mountain was a whole civilisation of monsters, waiting to be freed from their prison. They did everything they could to convince people; reading and re-reading multiple different storybooks on the tale, researching into different theories and ‘sightings’ over the years (the most popular being one from a few years back, where a beast resembling a goat was seen carrying a human corpse into a town before being beaten back into the mountain - but the case had been deemed a case of mass hysteria and debunked by multiple theorists). Frisk’s interest bordered on obsession - they were _determined_ to know what the mountain hid, no matter what it took.

They were going to free the monsters.

They were going to free the monsters.

They were going to _free the monsters._

* * *

 

Frisk opened their eyes with a wince, blinking blearily up at the distant light above them. For a moment they were confused on where they were and what was happening until suddenly they remembered - they’d climbed Mt. Ebott and fallen down that hole. They were in the underground!

Sitting up, Frisk rubbed at the back of their head and winced at the feeling of a wet liquid in their hair - great, they’d whacked their head hard enough to bleed. They’d landed in a field of bright yellow flowers that resembled buttercups, some of which were splattered with sharp spots of red - Frisk’s blood. Checking the area around them resulted in discovering a small rock as the culprit to their injury - namely, the rock they’d kicked down the hole to check how deep it was. Ironic. The flowers had probably muffled the noise of it hitting the bottom and that was why Frisk hadn’t heard it.

Finally taking a moment to investigate their surroundings a little better, Frisk took notice of three important things - first, there was no way back up the hole. That was fine, Frisk wasn’t aiming to get out that way.

Second, there was a large purple gate/doorway leading deeper into the caverns. _That_ was where Frisk needed to go.

Third, there was someone else in the cavern with them.

For a moment the two similar children inspected each other, brown eyes meeting red. The bright green and yellow jumper the other child wore told Frisk whoever this was could be trusted, so they smiled at the other gently in order to calm them down - they looked too distrustful of Frisk to be safe.

“Hello.” Frisk greeted civilly, keeping themself passive until they could decide on whether or not to trust this other person. They were definitely human, like Frisk, but something about them was...Off.

“...Who are you?” The other child asked, looking critically at Frisk, who continued to smile.

“My name is Frisk.”

“Did you just jump down that hole?”

“Well, I was trying to climb down but I slipped.”

“Why’d you want to fall down here? Haven’t you heard?” Suddenly the child was gone and Frisk blinked, surprised, before jolting back in surprise when the other reappeared in front of them, a dark look on their face. “Horrible monsters live down here. All they think of is murder and blood - one look at your human face and you’ll be dead before you can even blink.” Frisk was silent for a moment, taking in this information.

“...Aren’t you human?” The other smiled suddenly, but the expression was sinister rather than calming like Frisk’s.

“ _I haven’t been human for a very long time._ ” They vanished again and although it was extremely subtle - as if there was no weight to them at all - Frisk could feel the child leaning on their shoulders. “My name is Chara. I am the demon who comes when their name is called.”

“But I didn’t call you.”

“Yes, I know. I’m confused too.” Frisk’s smile grew wider. Perhaps this ‘demon’ could help them. They got to their feet and turned around, Chara looking up at them with a bored expression.

“Chara, I am on a mission.” The other raised an eyebrow, but aside from that didn’t really look interested, so Frisk continued, moving to rescue their bag from where it had fallen a few feet away and hoisting it onto their back. “I am here to free the monsters.” Chara snorted, looking amused as they leant back in the flowers.

“Yeah, good luck with that. I tried the same thing a long time ago. Now look at me…” They got up and, to Frisk’s surprise, shoved their hand through Frisk’s chest with that same sinister smile. “ _I’m dead._ ” Much to Chara’s confusion, however, Frisk didn’t look scared - rather, they looked quite excited.

“I thought I recognized you from somewhere! You’re the child seen in the arms of that monster all those years ago.” Chara’s expression instantly darkened and they glowered at Frisk menacingly.

“How do you know about that?”

“There was a lot of news coverage about it when it happened a while ago. People thought that the townsfolk had gone crazy and dismissed them, but I knew it had to be real. _I knew it._ ” Frisk laughed quietly under their breath, clenching and unclenching their fists in excitement. All this time, they’d been right. Right all along.

Chara shifted slightly, frowning and crossing their arms over their chest. There was something...Unsettling about this ‘Frisk’ person. They were strange and not in a good way.

“...So how are you planning on doing this whole ‘freeing’ thing then?” Chara snorted again, giving Frisk a haughty look. “Are you gonna love them all to freedom? Hug them all until it all magically gets better?” Frisk smiled and it was far from a friendly expression, their eyes dead.

“Of course not, Chara, that would be silly. Bringing the barrier down is impossible. So if I can’t free them like that…” They bent to pick up a stick lying on the dirt floor, giving it a few sharp, experimental swings before laughing quietly to themself again, pleased with their new weapon. “I’ll just have to free them from this mortal realm, won’t I?”

Chara’s eyes widened and they took a step forward, worry on their face. This human was dangerous. They should have remembered...Humans were terrible creatures. Monsters were so much kinder and didn’t deserve the fate humanity had bestowed upon them. This wasn’t what Chara wanted.

“Wait a minute! You can’t just-” Frisk had already started to walk away, branch grasped firmly in their hand. Chara found themselves being tugged along, as if connected to Frisk with an invisible rope.

Frisk paused and then turned back to the pale spirit with that same empty smile.

“Looks like you’re coming along for the ride, hm? That’s fine. _A hero always needs a sidekick._ ”


	2. Your Best Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chara is reunited with their Best Friend, but he seems to have taken a dive off the deep end. Frisk continues to play their cards close to their chest.

“Howdy! I’m Flowey, Flowey the Fl...ower?” Flowey had started off strong, but by the end of his introductory sentence he sounded more confused than anything, squinting at an amused looking Frisk in confusion. There was something different about this child. Something...Unsettling.

“Hello.” Frisk greeted, their usual polite smile fastened onto their face. Flowey frowned, sinking down into the dirt slightly. That smile was uncomfortably familiar to the small not-monster - reminiscent of somebody else Flowey had once known.

“Who’re you?” Flowey asked gruffly, still somewhat hidden in the dirt. Frisk continued to smile, leaning down slightly to look at the flower better. Amazing! A talking flower! They were very interested in what the rest of the monsters of the underground looked like.

“My name is Frisk. I’m here to save monsterkind.” From behind Frisk, Chara grit their teeth and clenched their fists tight but other than that could do nothing else. Being incorporeal was incredibly useless against murderers. Well, maybe…

“Liar. Liar liar liar.” Chara hissed and Frisk’s smile fell from their face so fast it even frightened Flowey a little bit, who cowered away from the (visible) human’s dark expression fearfully.

“Would you be quiet? I’m trying to have a conversation.” Frisk said, turning their head to address the irritating spirit with narrowed brown eyes. Chara smirked, pointing at Flowey with amusement.

“You know he can’t see me, right? You look more crazy right now than you already are.” Frisk raised an eyebrow, nonplussed.

“Why can I see you, then?”

“Beats me. If I had it my way, you wouldn’t be seeing anything except the dirt you were buried under, _murderer._ ” Rolling their eyes, Frisk straightened up and gave Flowey a blank look, hand tightening around their stick before turning to the spirit calmly.

“You think I’m a murderer, Chara?”

“Wait, what?” Flowey said suddenly, eyes widening. Both humans ignored him, too engrossed in their apparently-one-sided conversation.

“You _are_ a murderer.” Chara hissed, drifting closer to Frisk with a scowl of hatred. “I will not let you lay your dirty hands on a single monster.”

“I thought you said-” Frisk started, but was interrupted by Flowey giving a yell of;

“Hey!! Idiot! Pay attention to me, will you?” Frisk turned to him, tilting their head with that same smile.

“What is it?” Flowey was still giving the suspicious human a nervous glare, but he seemed more confident when he answered.

“Who are you talking to? Did you say their name was...Chara?” The spirit in question gave Flowey a confused look, peering at him in confusion. They’re pretty sure they would have remembered meeting a weed in their living days.

“That depends. Why do you ask?” Frisk asked, holding their hands behind their back in some kind of imitation of an innocent child. Flowey seemed to hesitate for a moment before, much to both humans surprise, his face shifted and changed to one Chara recognized instantly.

“Asriel??” They said, surprise in their tone as they drifted closer to the flower - not that he could hear.

“You know him?” Frisk asked the spirit, an intrigued tone to their voice. Chara scowled, glaring at Frisk from the corner of their eyes.

“It’s got nothing to do with you, murderer.” Flowey, on the other hand, looked excitedly at Frisk, his fear forgotten.

“It’s me, Chara, your best friend!”

“...What _happened_ to you, Azzy?” Chara muttered, kneeling on the dirt next to the flower with a soft, sad expression and attempted to touch his petals, only managing to phase their hand through him. He didn’t seem to notice, much to Frisk’s interest.

“Chara is happy to see you.” Frisk relayed the information helpfully and although Flowey looked overjoyed, Chara’s expression was one of utter embarrassment. They didn’t have a chance to say anything over Flowey’s excited voice, however.

“I knew it! I knew you’d come back somehow Chara, I knew we’d be reunited somehow…” Chara only looked sadder at Flowey’s words, fiddling with the bottom of their jumper awkwardly. While this (sort of) reunion was sweet, Frisk was starting to get bored, their hand twitching around their branch irritably. They wanted to get on with things.

“Flowey?” The flower in question looked up at Frisk, his face back to normal after having drifted off in his happy mumblings.

“Yeah, best friend?” Well, that was interesting. Now that Frisk was apparently channelling the spirit of Chara somehow, Flowey was a whole lot friendlier. Useful, to be sure.

“As I mentioned before, I am here to save monsterkind.” Flowey frowned, petals flittering dismissively, as if he didn’t believe what Frisk was telling him.

“That’s impossible.”

“No, I don’t think so.” Frisk countered almost immediately, stepping closer to the flower with a smile. Chara glowered at the other human, a warning that if Frisk did anything to Flowey they’d do everything in their power to make sure Frisk shared their fate. Luckily for both spirit and monster, Frisk wasn’t interested in starting with Flowey anymore. His ties to Chara could be...Exploitable.

“Well, what’re you gonna do?” Flowey looked like he wanted to tag on something insulting to the end of his sentence, but had decided against it at the last second. Frisk got the feeling being ‘nice’ wasn’t something he was used to doing.

“I cannot remove the barrier, that is certain. However, with my determination…” At this Flowey perked up a little bit, looking slightly more interested but not interrupting yet. Good. “Perhaps I can free the monsters another way.”

“How so?” Flowey asked, looking interested.

“Well, they live underneath a mountain, no way to ever see the sky again. But, if I eradicate their lives from existence, perhaps in the afterlife there is a way for them to experience the surface once more.” Flowey looked...Surprised, to say the least, petals flared in shock. Chara gritted their teeth, looking at Asriel expectantly. He had been the kindest, most pacifistic person - monster or otherwise - Chara had ever met. Surely, he’d put a stop to this _murderers_ rampage-

“Why, that’s a wonderful idea!” Frisk looked about as surprised as Chara felt, and the dead child stood up suddenly, looking down at the flower as if he’d betrayed Chara in the worst possible way.

“A-Asriel, what-?” The flower was grinning, a devious expression neither human had seen him wear so far.

“This is perfect! It’s one thing to dust them all myself, but to have another player in the game...The possibilities are endless!” He was ecstatic whereas Chara was not, slowly drifting away from both Frisk and Flowey with a dark, haunted expression. Frisk payed no mind to that, all their attention focused on the flower.

“Well I...wasn’t expecting that.” Frisk said, giving Flowey a curious look. He smiled, and it was smug.

“I’ve been killing monsters down here for ages. You’re nothing special.” He winked at Frisk, tongue (the idea of a flower having a tongue for any reason was honestly hilarious, but the human kept it to themselves) sticking out of his mouth in a faux-playful fashion. “Why, I can teach you all you need to know about how to take out everyone here, one by one!”

“Really?”

“Yeah!! After all, it wouldn’t do for you to go wondering around the underground without knowing some of good ol’ Flowey the Flower’s tricks and cheats.” He winked again before suddenly becoming serious, giving Frisk a sharp look. “Remember earlier, when you mentioned being ‘determined’? That’s important.” He gave Frisk another wide smile suddenly, tilting his head on his stem. “Hey, Chara? Wanna know something cool? After we died, I was brought back to life as a flower with no soul, all because my dust was all over the garden. Fun, huh?” Chara looked horrified and Frisk raised an eyebrow. What kind of history did these two have? Nevermind, it probably wasn’t important.

“Anyway,” Flowey said, going back to look at Frisk seriously. “When I was…’Created’, it was through what would be a very lethal injection of liquid Determination. I’m not a scientist, so don’t bother asking me how that works. Basically, if someone were to have determination over a certain amount-” He winked again. “- like little ol’ me, for example - they would have the ability to rewind time.”

There was a pause. Chara narrowed their eyes at the flower and Frisk, smiled, almost condescendingly.

“Really?” Flowey scowled, suddenly looking irritated as they glared at Frisk.

“Hey, don’t look at me like that! I know what I’m talking about - I’ve been living like this for a while.” He seemed to wilt slightly, glare shifting to empty space. “It all gets...Boring, after a while. Without a soul there’s nothing to enjoy.” He brightened again, giving Frisk another wide smile. “But now that you’re here, I’ll have something to look forward to! See, somehow, you’ve got a whole lot more determination that I ever did - which is strange, because even humans with determination as their primary trait shouldn’t naturally have so much of it - but who cares? With that amount, you can do everything I could.”

“There has to be some kind of catch.” Frisk said, frowning now. This sounded almost too good to be true. Flowey, however, shook his head.

“Nope! Well, okay, it’s not complete control over time or anything like that, but it’s certainly useful.” His smile turned sinister and he eyed Frisk with amusement. “You’re gonna die a lot down here-”

“Die?” Chara interrupted him, sounding hopeful. Flowey, unable to hear them, continued speaking.

“-After all, monsters want your soul to break the barrier with.” Frisk blinked, tilting their head.

“Don’t they need seven humans for that?”

“You’ve been doing your research, huh? But hey, Frisk, I don’t know what kind of news they report on the surface, but don’tcha think a few missing children would be noticed pretty quick? We’ve _already got six._ You’re the missing piece of the puzzle and once monsters start realising you’re a human you’re gonna get attacked. A lot.” Frisk tsk’ed, irritated. Of course, they remembered now - the case files of the six children who had presumably fallen into Mt. Ebott. Their disappearances had never been investigated into, because only a crazy person would willingly fall down a hole into a mountain.

Ha.

“So I’ve just got to be very careful, don’t I?” Flowey’s smile turned sinister again and he snickered.

“Not if you’re setting out to kill ‘em all, nope! See, down here in the Underground, we measure violence with two things - LV, or LOVE, and EXP. LOVE stands for Level Of ViolencE and EXP stands for EXecution Points. If you kill enough monsters, your EXP goes up! And once you have a certain amount of EXP, your LOVE also increases, making it easier to kill! It’s very easy, once you get down to it. You just gotta get started.”

“So what happens if I die?”

“Well, using your Determination, you can simply come back! But you’ve gotta want it more than anything, otherwise your soul will shatter and then you’ll really be dead.” Flowey explained, before glancing over his shoulder, expression turning...Funny. “I’ve got to go. I don’t wanna be seen by anyone in this dull place, especially not by _her_...Anyway, remember what I said! See you around - _best friends._ ” Then he was gone, disappearing into the ground and leaving nothing behind except a small mound of dirt.

Chara stared, forlorn, at the place he'd been, turning away from Frisk with a scowl. So, Asriel had turned his back on his morality as well? Then it looked like they were working alone again.

It didn't matter, in the end. They should've known the crybaby would betray them again.

Frisk observed the way Chara's anger boiled beneath their surface in interest. Chara was obviously not a very nice person - perhaps, once, they had been, but Frisk was nothing like the spirit. They wouldn't know what Chara had been through and they honestly didn't care. Frisk was stuck with them, whether or not they wanted to be.

From across the room was a noise, like the scuffling of a foot on dirt. Frisk instantly got into a defensive pose, hand tightening around their stick. <i>Finally</i>, something to kill-!

There was another noise, this time not entirely dissimilar to the sound of somebody lighting a fire and Frisk found themself looking up, up at the monster in from of them. They were large, but not imposing, instead giving off an impression of warmth and protection.

“Oh!” It made a noise of surprise and then smiled down at Frisk, who by now had dropped their stance wearily. “Dear child, have you fallen down? I am sorry I did not arrive earlier, I was busy…” The monster knelt to be closer to Frisk’s height and Frisk looked up at it before making a split second decision to ham it up a little bit by forcing themself into tears.

“I-I don’t kn-know where I, I am and I w-wanna go home!” They sniffled for added effect, shying away from the monster and wrapping their arms around themself, a familiar defensive pose to anybody with common sense. The monster acted instantly, practically radiating overbearing and protection. Perfect.

“My child, do not be afraid. I am Toriel, caretaker of the RUINS. Come, I will guide you through the catacombs!” She extended a hand towards Frisk and after a moment of deliberate hesitation they took it, letting Toriel lead them into the RUINS.

They could feel Chara’s glare on their back and smiled over their shoulder at them. The spirit scowled, clenching a fist. They’d stop this human, they swore on it - after all, the entire underground depended on them and them only.


	3. Heartache

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It continues. Frisk is not the type to be merciful.

“Welcome to your new home, innocent one!” Frisk resisted the urge to laugh. ‘Innocent’? Sure. Frisk already knew all they needed to know about life and all its ups, downs and inbetweens. They weren’t stupid, not at all.

Frisk knew Chara wasn’t far behind them - the spirit had fallen quiet at Toriel’s arrival and hadn’t even looked at Frisk once yet, despite Frisk periodically checking to make sure the other was still there. While Frisk hadn’t expected to have a companion on their journey, the idea of tormenting Chara sounded fun, especially considering how they were probably going to become a nuisance later on.

“H-Home?” Frisk questioned, still playing up the ‘lost child’ role. This monster had no idea what was coming. She seemed nice enough, Frisk was sure she’d be glad to be ‘freed’.

“Yes, my child. You will be staying with me from now on!” Ah. Well, that might be a little bit of a problem.

“Um...O-Okay.” Frisk mumbled, of course without meaning it. Like they were going to stick around this dull place. They had a job to do.

Taking a moment to properly look around, Frisk found the RUINS to be about as plain as they’d originally thought. The walls were a deep purple colour made of bricks that were broken and cracked in multiple places and some of the floor was blanketed in bright red leaves, but that was about as exciting as it got.

It was obviously an _old_ place. Then again, you’d think something named ‘the RUINS’ would be old.

“Allow me to educate you in the operation of the RUINS.” She said, bringing Frisk out of their thoughts. The monster was smiling down at Frisk who returned it; timid, fake. Playing along was important.

Despite this, Frisk couldn’t help but feel the tiniest bit irritated by the monster all but literally holding Frisk’s hand through the next few rooms, either doing the puzzles for them or giving them unneeded hints. It rubbed them the wrong way and felt their annoyance rise.

“Getting angry?” Chara asked, surprising Frisk as they were about to flip the second switch the monster had labeled for them. Frisk gave the smug spirit a dull smile, not appreciating Chara’s input at all.

“Finally finished sulking?” Frisk countered and Chara glowered at them, arms folded over their chest as they floated beside Frisk.

“I wasn’t sulking, _murderer_ , I was thinking.”

“Of course you were.” Frisk said, giving the switch on the wall a hard yank downwards, betraying their true feelings beneath their cold exterior. “That nickname is getting old, don’t you think?”

“Well it’s what you are, isn’t it?” The two scowled at each other, distaste like electricity between them - but neither could hurt the other, so there was nothing to be done. Unfortunately for Chara, Frisk had an output.

“My child?” Frisk turned around sharply at the sound of the monster’s voice behind them, Chara drifting away from her with a small frown. “Is everything alright? I thought you might be...Talking to yourself.”

“I-I’m okay, just a bit...Shocked.” Frisk replied and ignored the way Chara glared daggers into their side. They couldn’t allow the spirit to rile them up anymore. It was already becoming a problem.

“That is understandable, small one. Do not worry! I am here to look after you.” She turned away with a smile and Frisk dropped the act immediately after she had done so, rolling their eyes. The sooner Frisk could be rid of her, the better.

“She has a name, you know.” Chara muttered and Frisk looked at them, sharp.

“I didn’t say anything.” Chara’s eyebrows raised, re-crossing their arms.

“Are you sure? I’m pretty sure I heard you say something.” For a moment they looked at one another, expressions curious before Frisk suddenly came to an understanding and, for the first time, looked horrified.

“Don’t tell me…” It didn’t take long for Chara to come to the same conclusion and they looked at Frisk with what could be described as ‘excitement’, while also managing to look smug at the same time.

“Ha! I can read your mind!”

“Ugh.” Frisk reached up a hand to massage at the bridge of their nose, irritated. It was fine. Irritating, but fine. Chara couldn’t _do_ anything with the information, so it didn’t matter all that much.

“Anyway, as I was saying, she has a name.”

“Surprisingly enough, I don’t care.”

“It’s Toriel.”

“See I don’t need to pay attention, because if I have you here being an annoyance then you can just tell me everything I didn’t pay attention to.”

“Please, don’t expect me to do such a thing. Like I’d willing help a murderer.” Frisk bit their tongue to refrain from retorting. Talking to Chara was just a distraction, they needed to focus.

Ignoring the way the spirit tried to get in their way, Frisk simply walked through Chara to get to the next room where ‘Toriel’ was waiting for them patiently.

“As a human living in the UNDERGROUND, monsters may attack you.” Toriel informed Frisk helpfully, who smirked. Right, because they was in such danger down here. No matter what that flower had said, Frisk was entirely confident in their own skills. They weren’t going to die so easily.

Even so, Toriel was adamant on teaching Frisk how to ‘spare’ monsters, which was an entirely useless skill for the future. The chances of Frisk sparing anyone were extremely low.

“Practice talking to this dummy!” Toriel said, pointing at said dummy. Frisk gave it a long look, hand shifting impatiently around their stick before losing some of their careful self-control and, swinging their arm up angrily, shoved their stick right into the dummy’s head. It didn’t move, because it wasn’t sentient, but Frisk would be damned if it wasn’t cathartic.

Still, they found themselves surprised when the dummy suddenly seemed to...Separate, turning to a strange, dust like substance and settling on the floor and some of it even on Frisk’s clothes.

“Ahh, the dummies are not for fighting! They are for talking!” Toriel said, sounding disappointed in Frisk. They weren’t bothered, continuing to stare down at the ‘dust’ covering them. Interesting. Had the dummy been a monster, somehow? “We do not want to hurt anybody, do we…? Come now.”

When Frisk eventually looked up to follow Toriel from the room, they found Chara giving them the darkest look the spirit had mustered so far.

“So, you’re serious about this?”

“Why would you think I wasn’t? I’m very…’Determined’ to free the monsters, Chara.” They held eye contact once more, red eyes meeting brown.

“...I’m going to stop you.”

“I’d like to see you try.” Frisk smiled and it was dull and unpleasant, sending a shiver down the spine Chara didn’t technically have anymore.

Frisk continued on with a somewhat less irritated expression, their hand continued to flex around the stick they held, now covered in a light coating of dust.

Toriel informed them of another puzzle but Frisk wasn’t listening, because sitting in between them was a new monster, one not too different from a frog.

“...A Froggit.” Chara informed Frisk quietly, watching it with a somewhat sad expression. They knew what was coming and pleaded mentally for the monster to ignore Frisk, but alas - it hopped right up to them and Frisk gave it a bored look.

“Really? This is pathetic. I don’t even need the stick.”

“Don’t-!” Chara cried, but it was too late - Frisk had struck out with their foot and the Froggit exploded into dust, covering Frisk’s shoes. Chara shook their head, horrified. They couldn’t believe this was actually happening.

Frisk, meanwhile, was enjoying a sudden rush of euphoria that had come after killing the monster, looking themself over curiously. Nothing seemed to have changed, aside from the dust on their clothes, but they felt...Different. Stronger, almost.

“What is this?” They asked Chara, who refused to look them in the eye this time.

“What’s what?” The spirit muttered, obviously distraught. Frisk forced themself to be patient; they couldn’t expect Chara to be entirely obedient.

“This feeling.” Chara gave Frisk a sudden sour look, drifting away from the human slightly.

“Weren’t you paying attention to Asr- ...Flowey? It’s your LOVE, idiot.” Frisk took a moment to recall what the flower had said, interest coming onto their face.

“Fascinating. It’s like I’m playing some sort of game.” Chara gave a snarl of hate and looked as if they wanted to punch Frisk, instead resorting to getting uncomfortably close to the human, fists clenched tight at their sides.

“ _Murder is not a game._ ”

“Says who?” Frisk asked, a sweet smile on their face. “I’ve already told you, partner. I’m simply assisting these monsters-”

“ _Don’t_ call me that. Don’t you dare.”

“ _Partner._ ”

“ _Murderer!_ ” Frisk shook their head, turning away from Chara, who was shaking in their anger.

“We’re stuck together, Chara, don’t you see? We’ve got to learn to work cooperatively.”

“Never! Never, never with _you_.” Frisk sighed, the conversation becoming dull, fast. They gave Chara another cold smile over their shoulder.

“I don’t think you have much of a choice...Partner.” Frisk went to rejoin Toriel, leaving Chara to scream angrily behind them. It didn’t matter whether or not the other decided to assist them, Frisk was going to complete their job no matter what.

However, Frisk found their patience wearing thin with Toriel - the monster had actually _held Frisk’s hand_ across some extremely un-dangerous looking spikes and now the human watched, eyes narrowed, as the monster practically ran down the hallway and...Hid behind a pillar.

At this point, they’d be glad when they finally managed to kill her.

The walk across the hall was irritably long, Frisk finding the entire exercise pointless, especially when they finally got to the other side and the monster explained her reasoning. Frisk was already independant, they didn’t need to be smothered this way. On the plus side, they got a phone, so that was useful.

Of course, they weren’t about to listen to her when she said stay put - Frisk was getting tired of being held back.

The moment they stepped out of the room the monster called but Frisk took deep breaths and tried to keep calm. Soon, very soon…

Taking the left into a side room, Frisk was amused to find nothing more than a bowl of sweets inside.

“Take one.” Chara read the small plaque attached to the table out loud, giving Frisk a side look as if daring them to disagree - which is why Frisk gleefully shoved the bowl off the table, shattering it and sending sweets everywhere. “Ugh. You’re disgusting.” The spirit said, voice sour, as Frisk bent to grab some of the sweets in their hand and shove them into their bag.

“Who else is going to eat these?” Frisk asked, smiling amusedly as Chara scowled at them. “I might as well enjoy them...Soon there won’t be anybody else around to do so.” They left the room, Chara forced to follow along behind them.

It was entirely by accident that the small, fairy like monster had bumped into Frisk but they killed it with glee, the creature instantly bursting into dust the moment their stick came into contact with it’s small body.

The phone, it turned out, quickly became an annoyance. With a snarl of irritation Frisk chucked it as hard as they could against the wall of the room they were in, the lone rock giving no comment as to the child’s aggressive behaviour. Finally, free of that monster’s incessant nagging - who _cared_ what their favourite flavour of pie was?

“Cinnamon is better.” Chara commented airily as they floated by Frisk, who was still breathing hard after their burst of anger. Frisk gave them a sharp smile that came out looking more like a grimace, wishing they could choke the spirit into silence.

“Who. Cares.” They hissed, storming over to the rock and almost kicking it violently before realising it was part of a puzzle and solving it begrudgingly. The spikes fell and Frisk cold heartedly slaughtered another monster, Chara turning their head away from the display in disgust.

“You’re sick.” The dead child could tell the living one was losing their patience, their entire body twitching with barely repressed anger. Chara was delighted in their short temper - they hadn’t seemed the type to get angry easily. Then again, getting them angry probably wasn’t helping them spare any monsters.

From the other side of the room the phone, despite having been chucked against a wall, started to ring and Frisk gave it a look of utter loathing before storming into the next room. Chara sighed, looking over at the phone curiously. Their mother had always been so over-protective - she wasn’t going to be happy with Frisk once they caught up to her.

It continued. Frisk solved puzzles with varying levels of success, slaughtering monsters along the way. It seemed, somehow, to calm them down, which Chara found deplorable.

“Why are you _enjoying_ this?” They asked, trying not to notice the way the dust was slowly accumulating on Frisk’s striped shirt. They paused in pocketing the money the monster had dropped, giving Chara a small smile.

“It calms me.”

“‘Calms you’?”

“Did you never delight in taking the life from insects, Chara?” Frisk asked suddenly, crossing from the room with the mysteriously talking rock to the next, pausing to look at Chara with that same empty smile. “To watch ants as they struggled to walk after you’re stepped on them, carrying others to and from safety? Don’t you find it thrilling?”

“No???” Chara replied, utterly repulsed. Frisk was...Worse than they’d thought. Far worse. “That’s horrible.”

“You think so?” Frisk murmured, smile still there but their eyes distant, as if reliving a fond memory of some kind. “I had that power. To take away the lives of those creatures, and they would never have seen it coming. But it gets boring, wouldn’t you think? I wanted more, after a while. And then…” And they laughed, hands clenching, expression one of utter insanity. “I learnt about the monsters under the mountain.”

“So that’s what this is to you, then? Squashing ants?” Chara asked, voice frosty.

“These monsters are below me.” Frisk said, voice suddenly dull, coming back from their momentary delude as they stared at Chara with their dead eyes. “If what our dear flower friend says is true, I have the power to go back in time and do it all over again, if I wished. Over and over I could kill everyone here.”

“You’re doing this for your own sick needs, not to save them!” Chara said, voice rising. “You’re a liar. A disgusting human being, just like the rest of them. I hate being like you. I wish I was a monster.”

“Oh, and how I’d delight in ending your life, Chara. But unfortunately…” Frisk turned away from the angry spirit, a smirk on their face. “You’re already dead.”

Frisk walked through the room with the cheese on the table without even looking at it, Chara lingering a moment as they wished they could perhaps help the mouse - but, incorporeality was a thing, unfortunately.

“...Hm.” Continuing on, Chara stopped behind Frisk as, in front of them, lay a ghost.

“Is he…” Chara trailed off, squinting their eyes curiously. “Sleeping?”

“Pretending.” Frisk corrected blandly, stepping forwards and raising their stick with the intention to kill. Chara rolled their eyes, folding their arms over their chest.

“I don’t know if you’ve forgotten already, but you _are_ currently in the company of a ghost already, one of which you can’t actually harm. Are you seriously going to try killing this one?” Frisk paused, before lowering their arm with a sour expression. Unfortunately, Chara had a point.

“What to do…” Frisk muttered, wondering if they could just...Step _through_ the ghost-

“Oh…..Well….Not to be rude, but…….I mean…...You could always...Try asking, if you could, get by…..” The ghost said suddenly, surprising both Frisk and Chara as they got up. Frisk put on their most charming expression but the ghost was already giving them a distrustful look, before looking, much to the spirit’s surprise, directly at Chara. “Why’re you...Spending time with this person…? They don’t seem very…...Friendly.” With that Frisk dropped the act, scowling.

“Get out of the way.” They said, voice harsh, and the ghost flinched, looking away with tears suddenly blossoming in their eyes.

“Oh…..Sorry, I’ll move….” They faded away and Frisk clenched and unclenched their fists, obviously irritated. Chara continued to float, an expression of shock of their face - they hadn’t expected the other ghost to see them. Shaking their head, they gave Frisk a blank look.

“You get angry easily.”

“Shut up.” Frisk snapped, already moving on. Rolling their eyes Chara followed, watching as the other carried on solving the puzzles and killing monsters.

Chara hated this. Hated being forced to watch this human kill monsters who had never done anything to deserve such cruel treatment, all because this one in particular was sick in the head.

“Oh, there’s something here.” Frisk said suddenly, voice floating up from the hole they’d fallen in. Chara watched as they came back upstairs, holding an extremely old-looking red ribbon in their free hand. “This looks human made.”

“Impossible.” Chara dismissed instantly, frowning at the ribbon. “You’re the first human to fall down here in a long time.” Frisk looked up from their prize with their eyes.

“I wonder, Chara...What kind of connections do you have to this place?”

“It’s got nothing to do with you, murderer.”

“We’ll see.” Frisk replied, reaching up to touch the dirtying bandage on their cheek - before gripping it by the end and yanking it off their face with a harsh movement, looking completely unfazed despite the fact it must have obviously hurt, the cut beneath shining under the miniscule light of the RUINS and oozing a little bit of blood from the way Frisk had pulled off the bandage. They tied the ribbon into their hair and continued on.

Chara knew the RUINS well - they had come there with...Him, to play together sometimes. The hole Frisk fell down...That was the one they’d fallen down too. So it didn’t take long for the spirit to notice they weren’t going anywhere, and right outside the old house as well.

“...What are you doing, murderer?” Chara asked, watching Frisk walk about the same room for about the third time. Frisk didn’t look at them, arms by their sides, hands twitching.

“Well, partner, there’s a quota I have to meet.”

“...A quota.” Chara deadpanned. They didn’t like what the other was implying. “Don’t call me that.”

“Yes, _partner_ , a quota!” Frisk replied jovially, continuing to walk. “It’s a fun little addition to the game, see? I ‘free’ a certain number of monsters in each area and then I move on.”

“Why can’t you just leave them alone?” Chara argued, turning away from the other angrily. “It’s bad enough you’ve already slaughtered all the monsters you’ve come across, why do you have to hunt them down?”

“It wouldn’t be as fun that way.”

“...I _hate_ you.”

“Likewise...Partner.” Chara fumed, covering their own ears and starting to scream again, Frisk pausing to give them an irritated look. “Please, you aren’t helping.” The other continued to scream and Frisk twitched, annoyed. “Stop that. I said stop!” Gritting their teeth as the other continued despite Frisk’s demands, the living child continued with their job begrudgingly, blocking out the others screams with murder.

Time passed.

Nobody came.

“Chara…” Frisk said, getting to their feet. Neither of them knew how long they’d been there - Chara had stopped screaming a while ago. Frisk had resorted to crawling on their knees. “There’s nobody left.” The spirit refused to open their eyes. They didn’t want to see. “Look at me, Chara. Partner.”

“ _Don’t call me that._ ” Chara hissed, turning their head away from the other.

“I did it, Chara. They’re all dead.” Chara, despite themself, opened their eyes.

There was dust scattered across the entire room and on Frisk, especially on their knees and hands. They were smiling, the widest smile Chara had seen them wear, as well as the emptiest. Their eyes were dead, staring at Chara as if they were the ghost.

“Looks like you did a number on this place, huh!” Both children turned at a familiar voice, Flowey the flower giving Frisk a very similar wide smile. “Golly, there’s a lotta dust in here. Harvesting isn’t one of my preferred methods, but! Whatever works for you, friend!” He giggled, bouncing on his stem for a moment before fluttering his petals cheerfully. “Welp, one left to go and then we can move on to Snowdin! See you there, Frisk...Chara.” Then he was gone and Chara took a moment to realise they were shaking.

Flowey scared them. Whatever he was...It wasn’t their best friend.

Frisk didn’t move for a second before suddenly jerking into life, solving the last puzzle before continuing.

They both knew what came next.

The Toy Knife was easy enough to find - not much, but it would do better than the stick. It had been a trustworthy weapon while it lasted but Frisk no longer required it and discarded it without a second thought.

“My child!” Toriel rushed towards Frisk, who stood stock still as the monster checked them over for wounds, scolding the child for not picking up their phone. Frisk didn’t bother making any kind of excuse, staying silent and smiling as Toriel finished and left for the house, the child following with those still jerky movements.

The house was warm and welcoming, a sharp contrast to the now cold and empty RUINS behind both children, living and dead. Chara didn’t want to look around, didn’t want to see any of this. It was too much alike to home, their real home, with their mother’s pies and their dad’s hugs and their brother…

Their sweet, kindhearted brother.

Chara fought back tears, wiping their incorporeal eyes with their incorporeal sleeve. Big kids don’t cry. Not even when their siblings sacrifice everything in a desperate bid to save an entire race, not then, not ever.

“Do you smell that?” Toriel asked, a kind smile on her face. Frisk gave no indication they had heard her, but Chara nodded despite Toriel not being able to see. Yes, they could, and it was entirely too familiar for the child.

“It’s a butterscotch-cinnamon pie! I thought we might celebrate your arrival.”

“Thank you.” Frisk spoke, voice soft. Chara blinked, surprised. Had that been part of the act, or…? The other had sounded...Genuinely thankful.  
“You’re welcome, my child.” Toriel said gently, kneeling to give Frisk - dust covered, murderous, empty eyed, empty smiled Frisk - a loving hug. Chara turned their head away, trying to fight off envy. Chara wanted to feel Toriel’s arms around them again, Chara wanted their mother to hug them. But not like that. Not covered in dust. “I want you to have a nice time living here.” Frisk, who had not reacted to the hug at first, moved their arms around Toriel’s neck and-

Hugged her back, before letting go again and stepping away. Toriel gave them a curious, worried look, reaching out a hand.

“Is something wrong, my child?”

“No, mother.” Frisk replied and Chara’s expression shifted to one of utmost hatred. How dare this _murderer_ call Toriel their mother? If only she knew, if only she had seen what Chara had seen, she would not be as kind.

“My child, you must be tired. Come! I have a surprise for you.” Frisk took her hand and she led them into the hallway, in front of a familiar and yet not quite familiar door. “A room of your own. I hope you like it!” Toriel rubbed at Frisk’s head gently before pausing, looking towards the kitchen in worry. “Oh dear, that might be the pie...Make yourself at home, small one.” She rushed off, leaving Frisk and Chara in the hallway.

“Mother is very sweet, don’t you think, partner?” Frisk spoke suddenly, snapping the spirit out of their jealous reverie. Folding their arms over their chest, Chara gave the other child a sharp look.

“Don’t call her ‘mother’. She doesn’t love you, not really.” Frisk’s smile returned as they pushed open the door to ‘their’ room, eyes trained on Chara mockingly.

“How would you know? You aren’t her child.” Chara scowled, nails digging into their own palms without feeling it, following the other into the bedroom without thinking - and instantly regretting it. The room wasn’t the right colour, but it was still the same room, minus a bed. Chara didn’t want to look, they wanted to get out of this room, but Frisk was already exploring and Chara didn’t get a choice in the matter.

“...Box of shoes.” Frisk said offhandedly, moving on. Chara gave it a glance and frowned. Those were all...Children’s shoes. Why…?

“Empty.” Frisk noted, setting down the picture frame they’d picked up and looked around the room, evidently bored. Giving said frame a long look (empty, empty, why was it empty? Where were the pictures, the jumpers, hadn’t she brought anything, a mug, a pasta necklace, photos of dad, of _him_ , of Chara) the spirit drifted towards the doorway, eager to leave now that Frisk was finished looking around- “I’m tired.” They announced and promptly crawled into the bed provided, dust and all.

“Hey! I don’t- I don’t want...To stay in here…” Chara trailed off, trying not to look at anything else. They felt panicky, chest tight, hands clenched by their sides.

“Then leave.” Frisk’s voice came muffled from the bed, the other sounding halfway asleep already. “You’re a ghost, aren’t you?”

“I’m not allowed to get any further away from you than I already am!” Chara hissed, trying their best but to no avail.

“Oh well…” Frisk mumbled and Chara realised, with a horrible jolt, that they’d fallen asleep. Crossing the room quickly the spirit did everything in their power to wake the other, eventually coming to kneel at the bedside trying to fight back tears.

“Frisk! Frisk, get up! I don’t want to be in here, please, please I’ll be quiet, I’ll do anything just don’t, don’t make me stay here I c-can’t, I don’t want to…” Chara trailed off, whimpering, as they curled into themself, breathing becoming hard despite not needing to, not really. “Let me out, let me out I don’t want to be here I want to go back, I want mom, I want dad, I want A-”

From the other side of the room the door opened and Chara was bathed in warm light.

“Mom!” They exclaimed, forgetting, momentarily of their incorporeality. “Mom, it’s me, I’m here, please, please-” But, of course, the monster walked straight through her dead child, placing a plate of pie on the ground beside the bed where Frisk slept before kissing the sleeping child (the murderer, murderer murderer _murderer_ ) on the temple.

She left the room and closed the door, plunging Chara back into darkness, back into despair.

* * *

 

Frisk woke from their nap around half an hour later, stretching appreciatively. Nothing like a nice long nap after climbing a giant mountain, falling down a hole and beginning the methodical murder of an entire species.

Getting out of bed, Frisk noticed two things straight away - the pie on the bedroom floor and the _child_ on the bedroom floor, huddled into themself and rocking back and forth in distress. Frisk raised an eyebrow, picking up the pie from the floor and watching Chara, almost amused.

“...Hey. Chara.”

“Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry-” Frisk frowned, putting away the pie in their bag and kneeling down in front of the other child.

“Chara.”

“Please, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Azzy, I’m sorry-”

“ _Hey._ ” Frisk repeated, raising their voice. Chara paused for a second, then curled even tighter in on themself.

“Go away, Frisk.” The living child huffed, standing up.

“You’re being very ungrateful right now, Chara.” The spirit looked up from their knees, eyes watery as they glared at Frisk pitifully.

“...What?”

“I’m not trying to antagonise you, Chara. I want to work together with you-”

“I’ve already told you.” Chara snapped, rising from the floor and stretching out, easily discarding the fact they’d been having a minor panic attack on the floor. It wasn’t as if Frisk cared, not at all. “I’ll never work with a murderer like you.” Frisk stared at them for a long moment, before tilting their head and giving Chara a soft smile.

“You called me Frisk.”

“What? No I didn’t.”

“No, I’m quite sure-”

“Just!” Chara snapped, holding up their hands and effectively halting the conversation, looking away from the child with the smug expression below them. “Get on with it…Murderer.”

Frisk didn’t bother to explore the rest of the house for long - they walked down the hallway, passing what must have been Toriel’s room, pausing momentarily in front of the door with ‘Under Renovations’ in front of it before continuing, coming to a halt in front of a mirror.

Two children stared back at them -

One with short, straight chocolate-brown hair, red eyes that held compassion for no one, their cheek sporting a slowly healing cut, a faded red bow in their hair, their striped jumper covered in unnatural white dust.

One with short, curly ginger-brown hair, brown eyes holding years of sadness and loss and pain, red rimmed and ever so tired, body slightly faded around the edges and translucent in the middle, their striped jumper faded and worn but utterly loved.

They looked at each other in the mirror and thought; _’why are you this way’, ‘what happened to you’, ‘I hate you’, ‘I want to help you’_.

Chara looked away first, taking a moment to look at themself in the mirror instead. Scruffy, as usual. Oh, they might have been dead for a few years, but their eyes were filled with more life than Frisk’s ever were and ever could be.

“...It’s me, Chara.” They said softly. Yes, that was right. They were Chara, Chara Dreemurr. ‘The future of humans and monsters’, their dad had always said.

Chara wasn’t going to let this murderer hurt their family, their people. Not today.

Frisk had already grown bored of the mirror, now heading in the opposite direction towards the living room. Chara took a deep breath and clenched their fists. Even if they couldn’t stop Frisk yet...Eventually. Eventually, there had to be a way.

“Ah! Up already, I see!” Toriel said warmly as Frisk entered the room. They gave Toriel their brightest smile - awake, warm, happy. Lies, lies and more lies, but necessary ones - she didn’t suspect a thing. From the way Chara was glaring daggers into their shoulder, however, Frisk surmised they weren’t pleased. Too bad.

Frisk zoned out for most of what the monster in front of them said - something about being happy for Frisk’s company. Well, she was going to regret that very soon.

Frisk’s hands itched. They wanted to get on with things.

“When can I go home?” She hadn’t even finished talking yet but Frisk couldn’t be bothered to care at this point, although they did hold up the smile.

“What?” Toriel replied, looking vaguely upset, but carried on pretending to be cheerful. “This...This IS your home now. Ah, do you want to hear about this book I’m rea-”

“How do I exit the RUINS.” Frisk asked, though it was more of a bored demand, feeling the act slip a little bit. She was so, so very _annoying_.

“Um...How about an exciting snail fact-!”

“ _How do I exit the RUINS._ ” Frisk repeated, joyful tone sounding fake even to their own ears. The monster jolted, now looking properly fearful and upset.

“My child, I...I…” Her expression suddenly hardened, however, surprising Frisk. From behind Frisk, Chara smirked, leaning back. They’d expected this. “I have to do something.” The monster rushed off and Frisk turned to follow her, catching Chara’s expression at the last minute.

“What are you looking so smug about?” They asked, tone accusing. Chara smiled, giving Frisk a glance over.

“My mother is one of the strongest monsters in the Underground.” They replied to Frisk’s incredulous expression. “And she is also extremely protective over her charges. You won’t be getting past her.” Frisk narrowed their eyes, disbelieving.

Slowly, a smile came onto their face and Chara felt themself falter for a second. Why…?

“We’ll see, Chara. We’ll see.” Then they were gone, and Chara was forced to follow.

Frisk didn’t remember much of the walk to the door. They wanted to get on with it, they wanted to kill her, _their hands itched_.

They were going to ‘free’ her.

Chara, however, was paying attention, and they were horrified by what they heard. ‘ASGORE’? As in, good king Fluffybuns? Mr. Dad Guy? A _child murderer_? They refused to believe it. Their dad would never, ever do something like that.

...Would he?

“You want to leave so badly?” Toriel said, both children looking up at her - one with worry, one with excitement. Finally, finally it was happening-! “Hmph. You are just like the others. There is only one solution to this. Prove yourself...Prove to me you are strong enough to survive!”

She spread her arms and Frisk instantly got into an offensive position, Chara floating behind them. There was no way Frisk would be able to defeat their mother, it was impossible. She was the strongest monster Chara knew, aside from dad-

Frisk swung the knife.

Chara watched, horrified, as their mother fell to a child holding a toy, Frisk’s expression one of pure ecstasy as Toriel’s face contorted into pain.

“Y...You...Really hate me that much?” She gasped, pressing a hand to a large gash in her side, giving Frisk a low look. “Now I see who...I was protecting by keeping you here.”

“Oh?” Frisk murmured, tilting their head and stepping forward, knife held loose, lazy in their hand. “And who would that be?”

“Not...You…” Toriel whispered, falling to her knees. “But them!”

Chara watched, wide eyed and tearful, as their mother turned to dust in front of them, her soul vibrating in midair for a few seconds before shattering, flying into the unknown.

For a moment, there was silence.

“GO _BACK_!” Chara screamed, rushing at Frisk with purpose, anger, complete and utter contempt, feeling hatred in their bones as the other child turned to them, entirely smug, both of them expecting Chara to go straight through Frisk-

They didn’t, instead crashing headfirst into Frisk and sending them both to the ground. For a moment they both paused, surprised at Chara’s sudden corporeality, before the spirit took the chance to do what they could, beating Frisk with their fists anywhere they could reach, Frisk struggling back with equal strength.

“GO BACK, GO BACK, BRING HER BACK, HOW DARE YOU, YOU _MURDERER_ -”

“Get off me! Get _off_!”

“GO BACK, GO BACK GO BACK GO BACK!”

“No!”

“I HATE YOU!” Chara screamed, smashing their fist into Frisk’s nose, which instantly burst with blood. Frisk gave a cry of pain in response but before they could retaliate the other child suddenly became incorporeal once more, unable to touch or be touched.

They flew back with a cry, landing hard on the floor and sobbing uncontrollably, trying to stop and finding themself unable to.

Toriel, their mother, no more would she bake pies for herself or her family or any monster ever again, no more would a child be able to know what it felt like to be loved as wholly as she could make you feel, engulfed in the warmth of white fur and fire that wasn’t truly hot.

Frisk, meanwhile, shoved one of those sweets they’d stolen earlier into their mouth - while it did not instantly heal their nose it definitely made it feel ‘less broken’, which was a better alternative to ‘completely broken’. Giving Chara a sour look Frisk stood, hands twitching, unable to stay still. She hadn’t been a challenge at all. Frisk’s need wasn’t satisfied yet.

“Get up.” They commanded harshly, wishing beyond all reason they could return the pain the spirit had just delivered, wishing they could strike out with their foot and have it connect with the other child, perhaps breaking some bones. Frisk didn’t like not getting what they wanted.

“How could you...How _could_ you?”

“Don’t you understand yet?” Frisk snapped, losing what was left of their patience. They were sick of dealing with the other’s pitiful attitude. “This is what I came here to do! I’m not going to stop, Chara.”

“You cared!” Chara shouted, getting to their feet unsteadily to angrily jab a finger at the other child who looked back, incredulous. “We came here and for a moment, you _cared_ about her! All she wanted was to love you!”

“I don’t care!” Frisk snarled in return, fists clenched tight at their side, the handle of the plastic knife digging into their hand. “She was in my way!”

“I hate you! I hate you, I hate you, you’re the worst, I hope you die,” Chara wailed, covering their face with their hands. Frisk breathed out through their nose, trying to calm themself down. Getting angry wouldn’t help, getting angry wouldn’t help.

“This,” They started, refusing to look at the crying child in front of them. “Is for the best.”

“Liar.” Chara whispered, scrubbing at their eyes with such force it started to hurt. “You’re doing this for yourself.”

“I’m here to free the monsters, Chara.” And Frisk smiled. Yes, that was right. They were going to free them all. They wouldn’t let anyone get in their way. “Let’s go.”

Chara had no choice but to follow, floating silently after Frisk as they pushed open the large, heavy purple doors in front of them and carried on.

_80 left._

**Author's Note:**

> fun fact this is unbeta-ed lmao  
> @ all you sinners who played the genocide run first - think of this as a 'what-if' thought process for frisk


End file.
